Greek gaming tycoon in talks to buy stake in Championship football club Bristol City

A Greek gambling tycoon is in talks to buy a large stake in the Championship football club Bristol City, part of an ongoing frenzy of dealmaking involving clubs in the top two tiers of the English game.

Sky News has learnt that George Daskalakis, the co-founder and chief executive of Kaizen Gaming, is in advanced negotiations with Bristol City owner Steve Lansdown about acquiring a minority stake in the club.

Sources said on Wednesday that Mr Daskalakis was working with co-investor Sandford Loudon, a financier and banker whose advisory firm Oakvale Capital has been involved in a string of deals in the sports and gaming sectors.

Kaizen is the owner of gambling brands including Betano, which until last season was the front-of-shirt sponsor of Premier League club and Europa League winners Aston Villa.

Mr Daskalakis and Mr Loudon are understood to have been targeting an investment in Bristol City for some time, and are said to be closing in on an agreement with Mr Lansdown.

Earlier this week, Sky Sports News reported that an unnamed gambling industry figure was in talks to buy a stake in Bristol City.

Betano has become a major force in premium online sports betting and gaming.

The brand is active in 20 markets, including the UK, with 13 million customers globally.

At the recent World Cup, it was FIFA's first official betting partner, while it had a similar deal with UEFA, European football's governing body, during Euro 2024.

In addition to Aston Villa, it has held several official partner and shirt sponsorship deals with clubs including Bayern Munich, River Plate, Benfica and Sparta Prague.

It has also been the training kit sponsor of Tottenham Hotspur.

The Robins, who lost their opening game of the 2026-27 season against Millwall last weekend, have been a Championship mainstay under Mr Lansdown's ownership.

He has had an interest in Bristol City for close to 30 years, and is reported to have invested £280m of the fortune he made from co-founding the retail investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown into the club.

A Bristol City spokesperson declined to comment, while a spokesman for Mr Daskalakis's investor group also declined to comment.

It was unclear whether the talks included a clause giving Mr Daskalakis the right to increase his syndicate's stake to majority control over time.

Such a provision is understood to form part of the consortium - whose membership was revealed exclusively by Sky News - which has just bought a roughly 35% stake in Liverpool FC.

Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Amit Bhatia, a former Queens Park Rangers shareholder, acquired the shareholding in a deal which was confirmed last week.

Meanwhile, Chelsea's ownership is set for a further shake-up, with Clearlake Capital close to buying out some of the club's minority shareholders.

Crystal Palace and Leicester City are among the other clubs in the Premier League and English Football League exploring new ownership.

The flurry of deals comes as the two competitions continue to negotiate a long-term financial settlement between them under the auspices of the Independent Football Regulator.

(c) Sky News 2026: Greek gaming tycoon in talks to buy stake in Championship football club Bristol City